💥Happy 4th of July everyone!💥 We met in the large shelter at Paul Miller Park this month to discuss Tiny Beautiful Things, by Cheryl Strayed. A big thank you to everyone who made it~ it was a tad toasty, but thankfully the bugs weren't bad at all. We may plan to try to meet there again for our August 13th meeting where we'll compare notes on The Guncle, by Steven Rowley. Stay tuned!
We have limited copies of The Guncle, so as always, if you are able to obtain a copy elsewhere, we would encourage you to do so. Also, we'd like to remind our members to please be intentional about reading through the book club books and returning them to library in as timely a fashion as possible to help us be as efficient as we can in distributing the copies we are able to secure~ we appreciate your help!
Speaking of efficiency, lastly, if you don't need a copy (and you didn't already let me know), would you mind leaving a comment down below to let us know? Thanks!
To the book!
For more than a decade, thousands of people have sought advice from Dear Sugar--the pseudonym of bestselling author Cheryl Strayed--first through her online column at The Rumpus, later through her hit podcast, Dear Sugars, and now through her popular Substack newsletter. Tiny Beautiful Things collects the best of Dear Sugar in one volume, bringing her wisdom to many more readers. This tenth-anniversary edition features six new columns and a new preface by Strayed. Rich with humor, insight, compassion--and absolute honesty--this book is a balm for everything life throws our way.
With an overall rating of 3 stars, I would say we liked this book more than we didn't. No one present said they loved it, and no one said they hated it either. We unanimously agreed that we liked Strayed's writing, and thought, for the most part, her advice was genuine and sincere. It was clear Strayed had put time and thought and effort into her replies, and we thought that was honorable in it's own right. Several members mentioned the book moved them to tears and laughter and times, and that in and of itself is a sure sign of a quality read.
However, a few of us did find her coarse language unnecessary, and her repetitive "sweet pea" references obnoxious by the end. It was suggested that the book was possibly just a little bit too long, and also that the advice seemed to center largely around romantic relationships... maybe some parenting or life path/career advice thrown in would have helped break it up a bit?
Most of us also felt like Mrs. Strayed's advice, and the brunt of this book, seemed to feel like it was mostly about her. We can recognize that it's incredibly helpful to have life experience to draw from in order to give credible advice, but her responses had a way of turning the discussion back to herself, making us wonder at times if there was any real advice given by the end of some of the chapters.
Let us know your take on the book down below! 👇
Did you enjoy Tiny Beautiful Things? Fans of the book also enjoyed, Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett, The House of Eve, by Sadequ Johnson, and Hello Beautiful, by Ann Napolitano. All of these titles are available within the Viking Library System~ reserve your copy today!
Would we
recommend this to a friend to read?
"YES"
Would we
recommend this to another book club for discussion?
"YES"
